novelraw Chapter 247-1: The Training Plan for the Shikigami Snow Woman (1)
Chapter 247-1: The Training Plan for the Shikigami Snow Woman (1)
Lin Xun closed the Apostle Forum webpage with a somewhat indescribable feeling in his heart.
The materials needed to craft talismans varied widely in price. For example, the Karmic Inferno Descent used to cast karmic fire was rather cheap, it only cost a little over three thousand Spirit Essence to make one.
Meanwhile, the talismans that strengthened shikigami, United Resolve and Filth Purification Rebirth, were pricier. The former required just over five thousand Spirit Essence, while the latter needed more than ten thousand.
Considering the potent effects of both skills, the cost was still acceptable.
The most expensive by far was the material to craft the Absolute Barrier Seal of the Ten Directions talisman, totaling nearly fifty thousand Spirit Essence.
Lin Xun couldn’t help sighing. This wasn’t so much casting a defensive skill as it was burning money.
Even with his wealth in the millions, using a fifty-thousand-value skill once would make him ache all over, let alone an ordinary Apostle.
He was busy complaining about how ruinously expensive the Onmyoji’s profession was when his eyes suddenly lit up.
“If talismans crafted by Onmyoji can be used by others, then maybe this profession isn’t as ruinous as I thought.”
“And not only is it not ruinous, it could even support a whole household!”If talismans could be traded for money, then this was clearly a profitable lifestyle side profession!
Lin Xun was itching to make a talisman on the spot to test it, but unfortunately he had no materials at hand and would have to wait until he returned to the library.
“Time to get down to business!”
He opened his inventory and clicked on Suppression Token of the Snow Woman.
[Do you want to use the Suppression Token of the Snow Woman?]
[Please note that the yokai contained within the token has not yet submitted. Upon release, there is a high probability it will attack you or attempt to escape…]
Lin Xun pondered for a moment, then chose to switch shells.
[You have possessed the shell of the Knowledge-Seeking Primordial Hermit!]
[You take out the Suppression Token of the Snow Woman and release the yokai within…]
[The token shimmered with light, and a snow-white figure appeared before you.]
[The Origin-Tracing Snow Woman of the Mountain looked like a beautiful woman, her long ice-blue hair smooth and glossy. Her pure-white furisode kimono outlined her shapely curves.]
[Confident in your noble status as the Dragon God’s Descendant, you waited for the Snow Woman to fall to her knees, subjugated without a fight.]
[Unexpectedly, the Snow Woman frowned at you, spat lightly, and said, “Where did this ugly shikigami come from? Where is your master?”]
[She glanced around, but saw no Onmyoji arriving to suppress and subdue her.]
[Delighted, the Origin-Tracing Snow Woman immediately turned and tried to flee…]
Lin Xun’s mouth twitched.
This yokai really did have long hair and short insight. She didn’t even recognize a dignified Dragon God’s Descendant. Serves her right to be captured as a shikigami.
If he’d known, he would have waited to release her in Dragon Marsh Temple. Then he probably wouldn’t have needed to train her at all, she would have obediently submitted on her own.
[You flicked your chain blade. The chain of flesh and bone shot from your hand, whipping straight toward the fleeing Snow Woman…]
[Just as the chain was about to coil around her, she turned back with a scornful smile. Her body dissolved into a flurry of icy mist and snowflakes, making the chain grasp nothing but air.]
[She reformed into her female form and continued fleeing, growing farther and farther away, about to vanish beyond the edge of your vision…]
“You think I’ll let you get away?”
Lin Xun decisively switched to the President shell and used Pleasure-Hazed Sight.
[The Snow Woman’s body suddenly stiffened, and the momentum of her flight sent her tumbling headfirst to the ground. She rolled several times.]
[You strode up to her side. Her pure-white kimono was now stained with dirt, and her cheeks were flushed crimson as her eyes repeatedly rolled back.]
[The yokai Snow Woman had lost all ability to resist. This was the perfect opportunity to subdue her!]
Lin Xun switched to the Palace Master shell without hesitation and began the capture process.
The first step in subduing a yokai was to defeat it, stripping it of all strength to resist.
Then came using the capturing vessel, no, not a Pokeball, but a suppressing artifact, to seal it.
Only in the final step would you perform Exorcism Decree, erasing the yokai’s consciousness and claiming it as your shikigami.
Under the control effect of Pleasure-Hazed Sight, the Snow Woman was unable to resist, equivalent to completing step one.
Lin Xun reached into his pocket and tapped the Rough Killing Stone to begin suppression.
[You used the Rough Killing Stone (Epic-grade item)!]
[Countless fine red threads gathered across the Rough Killing Stone’s surface, releasing a blinding crimson radiance that enveloped the Snow Woman.]
[The red light then withdrew, pulling the Snow Woman back into the Killing Stone with it.]
[Suppression judgment in progress…]
[…]
[The artifact’s rank matches the quality of the Origin-Tracing Snow Woman. Judgment succeeded!]
[The Killing Stone trembled violently, as though the Snow Woman within were struggling desperately. But soon, the trembling subsided, and the stone’s surface glimmered with light.]
[You have successfully suppressed the Origin-Tracing Snow Woman!]
[Holding the Purifying Wand, you formed seals and chanted, “Return to your origin! All Vajras! Shatter demonic barriers! Bind ghosts and subdue yokai! All evils are captured! Everything is purified!”]
[Onmyo Arts: Exorcism Decree activated!]
[Countless golden tadpole-script runes manifested out of thin air, streaming into the Killing Stone…]
[In the darkness, you heard the Snow Woman’s shrill screams, which gradually weakened until they fell silent.]
[Your powerful soul seemed to merge seamlessly with some strange spiritual presence, forging a brand.]
[Do you want to erase the Snow Woman’s consciousness, enabling full control?]
Since the bond between an Onmyoji and a shikigami wasn’t very strong, it generally only had two rules: first, the shikigami could not harm the master, and second, if the master died, the shikigami died as well.
Therefore, erasing a yokai’s consciousness was more advantageous than not for most Onmyoji.
The benefit was that you never had to fear the yokai pretending to obey. As long as the Onmyoji gave the proper commands, the shikigami would act like an extension of their will.
But the downside came from this as well. Once the consciousness was erased, the shikigami became little more than a walking corpse, and the Onmyoji would need to constantly form seals and chant to make it fight.
If not controlled and simply left to fight on its own, relying only on the remaining instincts after erasing its consciousness, a shikigami’s combat strength would drop to less than one-tenth of its original power.
That the Onmyoji had to divide their focus to control it was the first drawback. The second was that the shikigami’s combat strength was directly tied to the Onmyoji’s level of control.
An average Onmyoji who could make a shikigami display fifty percent of its strength was already considered highly skilled.
Of course, the Palace Master’s standards were far beyond that, he could probably draw out seventy to eighty percent of a shikigami’s power. If he used strengthening talismans, he could even make it exceed its normal capabilities.
However, Lin Xun was no orthodox Onmyoji. He was the leader of the yokai under the Chaotic Origin Dragon faction, a great yokai bearing a royal bloodline.
After thinking it over for a moment, he pressed ‘No.’
If he wanted to make the Snow Woman willingly submit and swear eternal allegiance to him, it would not be difficult. Erasing her consciousness would only shackle her strength instead.